Project Zero
by Death Jr Mark II
Summary: *NAME CHANGE* It's the start of junior year for Tsukune and the harem *cough cough* gang. Rated M for violence, future lemons (maybe), dark themes, and language. Pairings: Moka/Tsukune Mizore/OC and that's about it for the main pairings. Read it, or don't. It's your free time. Switches POV sometimes. One pairing will be yuri (girl/girl). Don't like, GTFO
1. Prologue: Chapter Zero

**Chapter Zero**

I rushed out of the house while grabbing my bag, and turning back to shout a quick goodbye to my parents. I ran almost all of the way to the bus stop, the holy lock on my arm jangling the whole way. The knot of tension and anticipation in my stomach tightened. I'm so not looking forward to almost dying all the time. . .again. Whoops! Forgot to introduce myself.

I'm Tsukune; I'm a 3rd year at Yokai Academy private school. 'I just can't believe summer break's already over' I thought, 'I figured it would seem longer.' This summer break wasn't as eventful as the last. Mizore and Kurumu actually went home, but Moka and Yukari stayed at the school. At the thought of Moka my little knot of troubles loosened.

In case you're new, Moka Akashiya is this really sweet vampire girl I met at Yokai Academy, which just so happens to be a school for monsters. . .and me. She has this amazingly long bubblegum pink hair, big green eyes, and she's pretty like no other girl I've ever seen. Yukari is actually not exactly considered a monster, since she's a witch. Which is basically a human with magic powers.

She's uber smart, so she's like twelve, but in high school. The aforementioned Mizore and Kurumu also happen to be monsters, though they aren't vampires. Mizore Shirayuki is a Yuki-onna (snow woman), not to be confused with Yoko Ono (John Lennon's wife), she's actually rather cute (Mizore not Yoko Ono). She has pale skin, and her eyes are an appealing shade of purple-blue, her voice is always soft, and she's my avid stalker. Her hair had been shoulder-length last I saw her, and she doesn't exactly abide by the dress code.

Sure, she wears the skirt; but she always seems to wear the same baggy, white, shoulder-less sweater. . .thing. She always has a lollipop in her mouth, and sweets are something she considers a necessity. As far as powers go, Mizore controls ice, and when in her true form, her hair turns to icicles and her hands become ice claws. Since she can control ice, and ice is frozen water, and water is pretty much everywhere. . .it kinda goes without saying she's no pushover.

I slowed to a stop at the bus stop, my thoughts turned to Kurumu. Kurumu Kurono is a Succubus and apparently her kiss can enslave, but I think she's saving it for me. . .yeah, that's not in any way comforting. By way of looks, she's pretty attractive too. Her hair is a sort of turquoise color, and her eyes are a deeper shade purple. In her monster form she grows a tail and wings. I think her power might also be having the biggest pair of tits I've ever seen. For some strange reason, she enjoys suffocating me with them, until Mizore or Yukari rescues me, anyway.

The only tits I've seen that might be bigger than hers are her mom's. Thankfully, before I could fully explore that rabbit trail, the bus arrived. I jogged up the steps, greeting the bus driver and bracing myself for another long, lonely ride.

**Sorry, guys. Couldn't be bothered to fix the format. Maybe Later. . .Oh, and I changed the story's name.**


	2. Chapter 1: Arrival

**Chapter One**: Arrival

I drank in the familiar scenery, guys and girls running or biking to school, the cherry blossom trees, the park Mizore and Kurumu almost destroyed fighting. This was all kind of nostalgic for me. In fact, it was sort of like déjà vu. I almost expected the bus driver to turn around and warn me about the academy. . .again. Thankfully he didn't, and before long, we were speeding through the tunnel that I imagine looks about the same as a drunken rainbow.

Eventually, we pulled out of the tunnel and screeched to a stop at the same, and slightly less creepy, spot as when I started here. I got off the bus and stood staring toward the school as the bus rumbled away behind me. I shifted my gaze to the pumpkin headed scarecrow with the sign around his neck.

"Still as ugly as ever I see." I remarked, laughing quietly to myself. I turned and began the long trek through the forest that only seems slightly less creepy than the last time I was here. I was only walking through the gnarled, barren trees for a few minutes when I came across a girl I'd never seen before. I mean, I'd recognize her if I'd ever seen her before. For one, she wasn't wearing the uniform; and I'm sure I'd remember such bright, red hair. Moka's little sister, Kokoa, was the only person who had hair this red. She was making noise and jerking around, flailing, and kicking her legs. As I got closer I was able understand somewhat the keening sounds coming out of her mouth.

With a wince, I realized she was trying to sing. . .and failing. Because of that, I guessed that the writhing and flailing was supposed to be dancing. She was no longer 'singing', but now she was humming. Needless to say, she was significantly better at it. As I got within ten feet of her, I noticed just how strange her clothes were. She was wearing a black shirt that seemed to be a couple sizes too small, and had swooping red lettering on it that I couldn't read.

It was in, like, English or something. I moved on to the rest of her outfit, which consisted of jean shorts that, honestly, didn't cover much and no shoes. Running around barefoot here was strange, considering all the roots and rocks and gravestones around. In the middle of spastically twitching and shaking, and generally looking like she was having a seizure, she tripped over a root protruding from the ground and fell face first onto the ground. She cursed under her breath and picked herself up off the ground, holding her nose.

She caught sight of me and jumped. Her ears were plugged with earbuds, which explains why she didn't hear me coming; she yanked one out and stared at me for a while. Up close, I could see that her eyes were a pale green that reminded me of the color of mint flavored gum, and her bangs were a bit long and hung just above them. She was chewing on her bottom lip, exposing the top row of her pearly, white teeth. Her mint colored eyes narrowed.

". . .how long have you been standing there?" I was startled by her voice, it was sort of breathy and low. I weighed my options. I could either lie and say: "_Oh, I just came over here and you were lying on the ground." _ I could say nothing, or I could just tell the truth. I thought through the consequences of each, and apparently I waited to long to answer.

"Well?" She demanded. I sighed and opted for the truth.

"I haven't been standing here that long, but I could see you for awhile." She stared at me for what seemed like minutes, and then nodded. I let out a silent breath I didn't know I was holding. She brushed her bangs out of the way and smiled, I don't know why her smile was so infectious, but it was.

"Pretty good, huh?" She was referring to her 'singing' and 'dancing'. _Now_ it's time to lie.

"Yeah, you were great." I forced a smile for emphasis. She snorted, and punched me playfully on the shoulder, grinning up at me.

"Don't lie, I know I suck." I grinned back at her. That's weird; I hadn't noticed that she was shorter than me. We stood staring at each other for awhile. Then she stuck out her hand, and introduced herself.

"I'm Arianna," her grin widened. "although, people seem to prefer to call me 'Ari' or 'Ri'. Either works." She shrugged. I nodded; it made a crazy sort of sense as a nickname. She stared off into the distance, distracted. Her head snapped back in my direction.

"So I decided to call myself Ari." I thought about it for awhile.

"Hmm, Ari-san." She wrinkled her nose at this.

"Ewww, don't add 'san' to it. It makes me feel old." She shuddered.

"Fine. Ari-chan?" I asked, grinning. She nodded. "Much better." Suddenly struck with curiosity, I pointed to her shirt.

"Huh?" She looked down.

"What does your shirt say?" She looked back up and smiled even wider.

_'If she keeps that up, eventually her face will break.' _I thought to myself.

"Bullet for my Valentine." She replied, still smiling.

"Ah, I see." I said, pretending to understand. She obviously wasn't fooled.

"They're an American band." She clarified. Oh, _now _I understood. We began walking toward the school, the topic shifting at random. By the time we arrived, we knew quite a bit about each other.

"So wait, you have a friend with split personalities?" She chuckled.

"Something like that, her Rosario seals her true personality. So there's two of her." She nodded.

"That's pretty friggin sweet. So one's Inner Moka and the other's Outer Moka?"

"Yeah, Ura Moka can be kinda scary sometimes though." She laughed and bumped me with her shoulder.

"Is she hot?" I felt my face get hot.

"What?! I'm not gonna answer that!" I protested but she just laughed.

"I bet she is. I hope you aren't a rapist or anything." She joked. I grinned at her. We continued walking through the mass of people, standing around .I glanced around dramatically, glancing over my shoulders, I leaned in and whispered.

"You should watch out, there are actually some of those here." She laughed again. "No, seriously, you should watch out." I reiterated, dead serious.

"Don't worry about me; I've trained to protect myself." I raised an eyebrow. "From rapists?" Her smile dimmed a few watts, and she looked away.

"Yeah." Her voice became soft all of a sudden.

"Oh." Awkward silence ensued. Then she was normal again. "Ah, well, I'd better go unpack my stuff." I looked up; I'd forgotten we were at the school. I turned to her, but she was already jogging off.

"Alright. See you later, Ari." I waved to her. She turned, still moving, and waved back.

"Kay. See you, Tsukune-kun." She disappeared around the building and I turned, looking forward to finding my friends. I smiled, thinking about my new friend.

Despite her being a wonderful person, something about the end of the conversation seemed weird, almost wrong. I thought hard, replaying the conversation in my head. It hit me and I stopped moving immediately. _See you, Tsukune. _Goosebumps rippled along my arms. That farewell unsettled me because, of all the things we'd talked about, I'd forgotten to tell her my name. So how did she know?

**Yo peeps, Death Jr here. Just a re-upload. More chapters coming, and the girls are going to make an appearance next chapter.**


	3. Chapter Deux: Meetings and Reunions

**Hey there, you sexy person, you. Yeah you. Death Jr here, still moving the story to my new account. Anywhore, I'm gonna shut up now so you can read, enjoy.**

**Chapter Deux**: Meetings and Reunions

I hadn't wandered far before I heard a familiar voice shriek my name. I turned as a field of yellow filled my vision. But, I'd been preparing for this moment all summer. I dropped to one knee and rolled, subjecting the poor guy behind me to suffocation. He stiffened as Kurumu crashed into him, then pried her off and shoved her away. I laughed from the ground; he turned, looking down at me. He held out his hand, to help me up.

"Someone's eager to see you." He grinned, causing several nearby 1st year girls to squeal. I laughed again as he looked at them, his expression a picture of bewilderment.

"Name's Nike." He said, shook the hand I was already grasping. I gave him a once over. He was strange, his eyes and skin being the color of chocolate. He wore his hair in long black dreadlocks, all but one tied back by a rubber band. He also wore a red scarf, a black t-shirt with three interlocking silver rings with a word in another language printed underneath, and black jeans.

"I'm Tsukune, and don't mind them." I replied, grinning at him. He grinned back, until Kurumu appeared, planting her foot in his face. His head snapped back.  
"The fuck was that for?" He snapped, glaring at her.  
"For shoving me, you jerk." She snapped back, glaring at him. I laughed at their antics. Kurumu grabbed me, squishing her boobs against my chest.  
"Oh, darling, I've missed you so!" She gushed. Nike raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"Not a word." I warned him. Suddenly the temperature dropped, announcing the arrival and displeasure of a certain snow maiden.

"_**What the hell are you doing to my man, cow?**_" Mizore demanded, her ice kunai striking Kurumu in the forehead, dislodging her from me. I turned to Mizore, smiling.

"Thanks Mizore-chan." I said. She blushed and drew closer, pressing _her _breasts against me.

"Any time, Tsu~ku~ne~." She smiled seductively. I glanced at Nike, both of his eyebrows were up now. A brass pan came crashing down on Mizore's head, crushing it. We all froze and stared as Mizore's body toppled to the ground, exploding into ice. After a moment, the real Mizore dropped from a nearby tree and smirked.  
"You really think I didn't see that coming?" She came toward me. "now, where were we?" She asked. We were all actually kind of impressed, but then another pan came down on her head and she fell to the ground.

"Hands off Moka's and my Tsukune-desu!" Came a high pitched voice, as Yukari brandished her wand.

"They're at it again, Tsukune that lucky bastard." Someone nearby muttered. Moka came running up behind Yukari, her face worried.

"Guys, I don't think you should be fighting." She protested. Mizore smirked evilly, freezing the ground in front of Moka, making her slip, and exposing her panties. All guy's noses within a forty foot radius erupted with blood. I looked at Nike and now he was staring at me, his jaw hanging open. As the girls broke out in an all-out cat fight. I walked to him and he snapped his jaw shut.  
"Well damn, bro, got any more women I don't know about?" I thought for a moment, then shook my head.  
"No, I don't think so." Then, yet another female voice, this one older, cut through the noise.

"Really, girls. This is ridiculous, you should be more mature; you _are _3rd years aren't you?" Ruby had arrived. The girls stopped fighting, heads hanging. I sweatdropped, why is _she_ talking about maturity. I turned to say as much to Nike, only to be yanked into yet another embrace.

"I mean, we all know that Tsukune-kun likes older women like me over hormonal teenagers." She said, cuddling me. Nike just looked at me, apparently trying hard not to smile.  
"Even the teachers?" He asked, giving up and breaking into a smile.

"She's not technically a teacher," I objected, extracting myself from Ruby's grasp. "she just works here."  
"Tsukune-kun wants a woman he can treat however he wants. He wants a woman who can be tied up and whipped, someone he can violently fu-" Nike fell over laughing his ass off. I sighed, way past tired of this. Nike picked himself up off the ground and looked around, searching the crowd. He turned to me.

"You seen a girl about yea high," He held up a hand, demonstrating the height. "With long, red ass hair, and green eyes?" My eyes widened.

"You know Ari-chan?" I asked. He smiled, nodding.

"You see which way she wen-" He trailed off, staring at something over my shoulder. I followed his line of sight to Mizore. I looked at him as his eyes widened, he pointed at her.

"YOU?!" Her head snapped up, as if she knew he was talking to her. Her eyes narrowed.  
"You." She snarled. She got up, stalking angrily toward him. He stomped forward angrily. They stopped a few feet apart, and began to circle each other.

"How's your face?" Nike goaded. Mizore growled.

"Shut up." He sneered.

"Must've hurt. Looks like it healed up okay, though."  
"I said shut _up,_ I'm going to finish carving you to pieces." Mizore growled, revealing her true form. Nike loosened his scarf and cracked his knuckles.

"You can try, but I won't cut you any slack this time because you're a girl." He growled back. They stopped circling and Mizore lunged, swiping at Nike's head with her claws. He ducked and swept his leg toward hers, though she easily hopped over it. She fired sharp icicles from her sleeves like a machine gun, attempting to skewer him. I was really shocked to see quiet Mizore trying to kill someone other than Kurumu. Realizing what was needed, I sighed and walked over to Moka and yanking her rosary off without a word. The sudden release of Moka's demonic energy stopped the two in their tracks. Mizore backed away in fear. Nike, unaware of the danger he was in, stood where he was.

"W-w-what the **HELL** is _THAT_!" Moka, now fully transformed, strolled in his direction. He froze, unsure of whether or not to run. He waited too long, catching a kick in the face. He slammed into the school wall halfway up and stayed there for a moment, before falling to the ground. Mizore, having given up on escape, shook with terror as Moka stopped in front of her.  
"Give my one good reason not to kick the shit out of you." She growled in Mizore's face.

"Um. . .I'm. . .uh. . ." Her shoulders slumped. Taking this as a sign of defeat, Moka kicked her across the courtyard. Returning, she took her rosary from me and stared straight into my eyes.  
"Never again awaken me for something so trivial." I nodded, just glad it was over. After she'd transformed back, and everything went back to normal, I went to check on Nike. He lay there, face down, unmoving. I rolled him over.

"Sorry, it was necessary." I said, helping him sit up. He looked at me.

"_**THAT WAS IN NO WAY NECESSARY!"**_ He shouted. I laughed and shook my head.  
"Just remember. Never anger Ura-chan. And you'll stay alive for a little while longer." He nodded and we both looked up as Ari rounded the corner. She looked down at Nike.

"Figures you'd get your ass kicked first thing after you get here." She looked between us.

"I see you know Nike," She observed smiling at me. "by the way, was that gigantic explosion of power Ura-chan?" I nodded and she whistled.

"You pissed off the most powerful girl in the school, on the first day? Classes haven't even started yet." Nike rolled his eyes at her.  
"I didn't piss her off, Tsukune-kun sicced her on me." He grumbled.

The bell rang and Nike stood and brushed himself off.

"Guess it's time for class."

I walked to homeroom with Nike. I turned to him.

"You have the same homeroom?" He shrugged and I sweatdropped. We entered the room. I scanned the room for familiar faces. I saw Moka (Yessss!) and Kurumu (uh-oh). I glanced at Nike, who pretended not to notice and continued to an empty desk behind Moka and next to the window.  
He leaned his elbow on the desk, his cheek resting on his palm and ignored everyone. I took the seat next to Moka, and made a note of where we all sat. Kurumu sat directly behind me, making our little group of four a square. Moka turned around and smiled at me, I smiled back and asked:

"How was summer break?" She made a face.

"It was okay I guess, but a lot of stuff happened. Exploding trees are the worst." I stared at her, and I guess I was making a confused face because she said.

"Yukari-chan." Ah, that makes sense. The teacher walked in, but this time it wasn't Ms. Nekonome. No, this year, we have new teacher. She turned and wrote her name on the board, then Ms. Sora Kuroyami turned and regarded the class with her ice blue eyes; after a few tense seconds she smiled and spoke.

"Welcome to home room." Her voice was like honey, sweet and it stuck in my head. She sat on the edge of her desk, and continued.

"Surely by now you've all heard the whole spiel about this being a school for monsters and such, right?" She asked. We all nodded. . .well, not all of us.

"Nope." Came the voice from behind me, Ms. Kuroyami looked at Nike, who stared right back at her.

"Alrighty then," She took a deep breath, then plastered a smile that was clearly fake on her face. "you want the long or short version?"

"Do you have the stamina for long?" Nike asked, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. Ms. Kuroyami just stared at him.

"Ooookay then. This school was built, and is run by, the Three Demon Kings, well one of them anyway. The whole purpose of this school is for us monsters to learn about humans and their culture, so we may better coexist with them." Then a familiar voice spoke up from the back.

"Ha! Why should we coexist with the scum? We could always just rape the women and eat the men." It was Saizo. . .shit. Nike laughed, long and loud. Everyone turned to look at him. He smirked.

"Aw, you're only saying that because you couldn't get laid otherwise." There was silence, then laughter rippled through the class room. Saizo's face turned red, and he growled. "And who says gay shit like: 'We could eat all the men.' I mean, I can think of one part that you'd undoubtedly enjoy eating."

"You're dead, you shit." Saizo snarled at him. Nike smirked again.

"Racist." More laughter. Saizo narrowed his eyes.

"That's not what I meant." He growled.

"Will you two shut the hell up?" The room dropped into silence. We all looked in disbelief at Ms. Kuroyami, who was pinching the bridge of her nose. She rolled her eyes.

"Thank you." She continued with class, but I was still a bit distracted. Can teachers even say stuff like that? As I stared at my desk, contemplating this, I realized she wasn't talking anymore, and I looked up. Right into Ms. Kuroyami's bright blue eyes. Shit.

"Am I boring you Aono-san?" She asked sweetly. Double shit.

"Uh no, ma'am." I gulped, and there were scattered giggles . She gave a predatory smile.

"Good." She turned to go back to the front of the class when,

"Well, you're boring me." She stopped and turned around. She fixed Nike with her cold blue gaze.

"Is that so?" She moved past me and I turned around, wondering if he was crazy.

"Yeah, I'm bored. It's depressing me." He yawned.

"Well, now you understand how I feel when I think about a year of having to deal with you everyday." She said, not in anyway sounding like she was joking.

"I'm hurt Kuroyami-sensei," He smiled innocently. "I can assure you I'm a very fun person. You just have to get to know me first." I glanced at Moka, she looked back at me. _He's fucked. _We agreed silently.

"Let's get one thing straight," She drilled him with a merciless stare.

"My name is Ms. Kuroyami, and you will address me as such. Not Kuroyami-san, Kuroyami-sensei, and I swear if you call me Sora I'll rip out your throat and feed you to Saizo." Then she turned, dismissing him and walking back to the front to continue her lecture.

"Do you have a death wish?" I whispered to Nike.

"Something like that." Was all he said in return. Thankfully the rest of the class passed uneventfully, and eventually the bell rang. Ms. Kuroyami sighed, almost as if she was relieved it was over. Then as I was leaving, I heard Ms. Kuroyami say:  
"Nike, if you'd stay please." I could only hope he came out in one piece.

**You can PM me now, I have a new account. If you have any questions, suggestions, or complaints review them or you can PM Me or Lana with them, and we'll try to fix it. You can go read my original Mecha Tails story (though I warn you, it kinda sucks) Lana, being the great friend she is, has been letting me post on her account, but now I have a new one. For the curious, the word on Nike's shirt is Tri-Polar, because it's a Sick Puppies t-shirt. Don't know who they are? Look em up, if you do, you're awesome. I'm done; go do whatever the fuck it is you do when you're not reading this.**


	4. Chapter Duex-Point-Cinq: Nike the Hero

**Chapter Deux-Point-Cinq**: Nike the Hero

My day already sucked and I was already in a bad mood from being chewed out by Ms. Kuroyami, but as I rounded the corner of the building, I saw something that made my mood took a nosedive _again_ and what I saw filled me with a rage I'd long forgotten.

What I saw were four bigger guys, lizard looking guys, picking on a small girl in a pointy hat I remembered seeing earlier that morning. One guy shoved her into one of his friends, who shoved her back. The first guy sidestepped and let her fall to the ground, causing her pointy hat to fall into the dust. She lay on the ground for a moment, then pushed herself back up. By this time, I'd altered my course and picked up the pace toward the scene, shoving past a few cowards watching from a distance.

The girl (I couldn't remember her name) ran at the biggest guy, who appeared to be the leader and kicked him in the shin while reaching for something pink he was dangling above her head. He roared in annoyance and slapped her hard with his free hand, making her spin around and collapse to the ground. I arrived seconds later.

As he drew back his leg to kick her, I tapped his shoulder.

"Hey," I said. He turned and I punched him in the jaw with enough force to send him to dreamland for a while. "Next?" I said to the others who had been tormenting the girl as I stepped on the leader's throat.

For a long moment, the only sound was the gurgling of their leader. Then the first guy to push her ran at me, swinging a wild punch. I laughed and shook my head. It looked like he was moving in slow motion. At the last second, I leaned back slightly to avoid it, then delivered a bone-shattering uppercut to the underside of his jaw, the force tossing him in the air like a rag doll. I pivoted on my left foot, removed my right from the leader's throat, and unloaded a shotgun blast of a side kick into the other guy's stomach as he came down, disrupting his descent.

Without pausing, I launched myself at the next guy, driving my knee into his nose with an audible _crunch_. He screamed and clawed at his bloody nose, but I silenced him with a quick roundhouse to the head. He collapsed into the dirt next to the girl, making her flinch.

The next guy tried to jump me from behind, wrapping his arm around my neck, but I leaned forward and used his momentum to flip him over my shoulder. As an unfortunate side effect of this, he took my scarf with him. I lashed out with a vicious front kick that caught him in the back and sent him flopping onto the ground four or five feet away.

After nothing else attacked me, I straightened from my defensive stance and took three deep breaths. Somewhere during the course of the fight (ahem, _beatdown_) the band holding back my hair had popped, leaving my dreadlocks to hang around my face and neck, partially obscuring my vision. I swept them back and pulled a band from my pocket and re-tied them.

My hair situation remedied, I turned and gently pulled the girl up from the ground and brushed the dirt off of her clothes. She stared up at me, something like awe in her eyes. I probed her jaw gently with my fingers and she winced, making a pained hissing sound. I sighed.

"You're gonna have a bit of a bruise there," Her eyes studied my face intently, and then trailed down my neck. She gasped and I remembered that I was missing my scarf. I stepped past her and snatched it from the limp boy's hand before wrapping it around my neck again. I picked up her hat and brushed it off before placing it on her head.

"What's your name, kid?" She pouted.

"I'm not a kid," I cocked an eyebrow and she looked away, blushing. "Yukari Sendo." I nodded at her.

"Nike. I take it you're a. . ." I chuckled. "_friend_ of Tsukune-kun's?" She nodded.

"We're going to get married." I smiled.

"Okay." A groan brought my gaze back to the ground. The leader was attempting to crawl away. Fury roared through my veins and heated my blood to a boiling point. I stalked after him and grabbed the back of his shirt before flipping him over roughly and lifting him up by the tie.

"You bastards think it's cool to beat up girls?" He gurgled and I punched him in the throat with my free hand. "Huh, asshole?" I hauled him up higher and brought my knee rocketing up into his balls. He let out a high pitched squeal and thrashed a bit in my grasp. I pulled him up even more and brought my head down hard on his. He crashed back into the ground, leaving his tie in my hand. I tossed it on his chest and stepped on his wrist, prying a strange pink stick out of his fingers. "Thought so." I sniffed.

Upon further inspection, I saw that the tip flared into a heart at the tip. I turned back to Yukari.

"I assume this is yours?" She nodded eagerly and I handed it back to her. She looked up at me and I threw her a salute.

"See ya," I called as I turned to leave.

"W-wait!" She called. "Why did you help me?" She asked quietly. I stopped.

"Because I can't stand to see women treated that way. Because I would never forgive myself for leaving you. And because any friend of Tsukune's is a friend of mine." There was a rustling noise behind me and I turned to see Mizore standing behind Yukari. She regarded me emotionlessly, then nodded slightly.

"Thank you," I smiled, and she snapped at me. "Wipe that look off your face, this doesn't change anything between us." I laughed as I walked away. Giving Lizard boy a kick for good measure.

"I didn't expect it to." I called over my shoulder.

**This was a little something I did in my spare time. Felt like doing a little something featuring Yukari. She didn't say 'desu' because I didn't feel like it fit in the dialogue. Meh. Oh well.**


	5. Chapter 3: Family Matters

**(DJ Edit: This chapter was atrocious, so I fixed it. I'll post a new one soon.)**

**My, my, my. Being sexy makes time fly. I'm sure you know what I mean, right? Thought so. Anyway, it's been forever and a half so we're uploading. Chapter 3 is here, BEE-OTCH! So enjoy this and stuff. Note that this chapter switches to 3rd person POV sometime to show what other characters are thinking and doing. Enjoy guys!**

**- Death Jr**

**Disclaimer: We own the whole damn WORLD! HAHAHAHAHA! But not this series. (Damn Feds.)**

**Chapter 3**: Family Matters

Moka, Kurumu, and I sat and watched as Ari practically dumped whole trays of food into her mouth. Not even a fourth of a morsel of anything escaped, and if it did, if was immediately grabbed and shoved into her mouth by either of her hands at a speed almost to fast to follow. Every person occupying the surrounding tables watched in a mixture of shock, awe, and revulsion as she continued destroying the food in front of her.

Some of the food was human food-like eggs, bacon, et cetera-and some of it was monster food that I _really _tried to avoid eating, because you never know if it's dead, or just asleep. Kurumu chucked little pieces of food from her own lunch at Ari, hoping to throw her off, but she just plucked them from the air as though they were moving in slow motion. Someone dropped heavily onto the bench beside me and I glanced over. Nike let his head fall on the table with an almost hollow _thunk._ Ari paused for a second, glanced around at her audience, and then resumed inhaling food as fast as she could. I nudged Nike.

"What'd Ms. Kuroyami want?" Without lifting his head, he said.

"My babies." I snorted.

"Let me rephrase, what'd she say to you?" His head snapped up.

"That's another question entirely." Then he got this far away look in his eyes.

_-Nike Vision-_

_As Ms. Sora Kuroyami, my homeroom teacher, stared at me silently with her arctic blue eyes practically shooting sparks, I figured she was probably imagining all the different ways she could beat the shit out of me. Then she sighed, adjusted her vest, and slid herself up and onto her desk, gesturing at a desk directly in front of her. She leaned back on her palms and tilted her head up, closing her eyes._

_ "Nike," She said. "I'm not going to lie to you." I raised my eyebrows._

_ "Well, that's a relief. Here I was, thinking-"_

_ "Shut up." She interrupted. "I can kill you in exactly four hundred, forty-five thousand ways. Do _not_make a habit of pissing me off." This scared me a bit more than I care to admit, because I could tell that she wasn't exaggerating in the slightest. If anything, she was playing down how strong she really was. "If you would like to act stupid and be a nuisance in any other class, by all means, go ahead. But I do not have the patience for idiocy." I waited, sure she was going to say more, but she simply stayed silent._

_ "Why are you here?" I wasn't planning on asking her that, but I figured that if she was as strong as I had a feeling she was, why would she be __here __of all places. She smiled briefly. She actually has a rather pretty smile._

_ "Why do you think?" I shrugged._

_ "Beats the hell outta me." She shifted, sitting up and crossing one legs over the other._

_ "Oh, I know. But take a guess." I thought for a moment._

_ "Well, you could be a complete loser with no other skills." I mentally slapped myself and reminded myself not to provoke her, but she just shrugged._

_ "Could be."_

_ "Out of all the teachers and faculty I've seen wandering around this morning; you seem to be the youngest." She tilted her head._

_ "Are you sure? Who says this is my real face?" I pondered this for a moment._

_ "Who says it's not?" She raised an eyebrow and the ghost of a smile hovered about her lips._

_ "Touché." I studied her for a moment. Studied her posture, her blank expression, the way she twisted the ring on her right pinky, her unblinking stare, a small piercing I hadn't noticed in the corner of her lip, her makeup free face. It was all very familiar._

_ "Hold on," I squinted at her. "Do I __know __you from somewhere?" She smiled, causing the ring in her lip to glint blue for a fraction of a second._

_ "I doubt it. I didn't__know __you __until today." I racked my memory for some other time or place I might have met her, and came up empty. For some reason my brain started to feel mushy in my head and it was hard to hold on to a thought for more than a few seconds at a time. "How about this, you stop acting retarded in my class, and I won't kill you. M'kay?" Dimples. She also has dimples. I shrugged, forcing myself to focus._

_ "Fine. But no promises." She uncrossed her legs, exposing-for the barest of moments-her white panties. She slid off her desk and. . .it's hard to explain exactly how she moves. It was sort of sensual, graceful, and deadly all at the same time. Before I knew it, she was gone. And I was alone._

_-End-_

"Nike." I nudged him and he twitched, shaking his head vigorously.

"What?" I stared at him, seriously creeped out.

"You just froze and stared off into space for a long time. You okay?" He smiled and it was almost like he was normal again. Almost.

"Just thinking." I nodded.

"Hey, you seen Yukari-chan?" He stared at me blankly and I elaborated. "Short, black hair, pointy witch hat?" Something shifted in his expression and he nodded.

"Yeah, she's fine." I stared at him, puzzled. That wasn't the question I'd asked. Dismissing it, I shrugged and turned back to where Ari was still sucking down food. Where the hell does it all _go?_ I turned to ask Nike, but he wasn't there.

* * *

She watched as Nike wandered into the forest, ambling randomly around tombstones, trees, and discarded bones, searching, though she was unsure if even _he _knew just what he was searching for. After a few minutes, he reached a clearing with a single tombstone.

He crouched near the ivy encrusted stone and brushed fallen leaves and dirt away, scanning the engraved words. He froze, then scrambled backward in shock. He stood, staring uneasily at the tomb. He backed away slowly, then turned back the way he came. When she was sure he was gone, she stepped into the clearing and looked down at the tombstone. It read:

_Death Jr._

* * *

Ari groaned as the bell rang. She stood and stretched, her shirt riding up and exposing her smooth, tan belly that looked just as flat as before she started eating. I caught a flash of something black curving in toward her belly button. It looked like a tattoo. I watched her go and shook my head. It's gonna be one crazy year. Since it was only the first day, we only had assembly, homeroom, then the rest of the day was free.

After Lunch, the Newspaper club met in our clubroom to greet our new addition.

Her name is Leiko and she's a nosy 2nd year who somehow manages to be everywhere there was some sort of drama. Naturally she's a perfect fit for the Newspaper Club. Unfortunately, she's pretty much Gin (our former club leader) in female form. Meaning she loves groping her club members, including me (and excluding Yukari). Needless to say, the girls don't appreciate her free hands. . .Neither do I for that matter.

Leiko wasn't there when I showed up, but Mizore and Kurumu were acting funny. They jumped guiltily when I walked in, and they both put on extremely fake smiles and waved.

"H-hi, Tsukune!" Kurumu squeaked. Mizore said nothing, just sat there, innocently sucking on her lollipop. I sighed.

"What'd you do to Leiko?" As if on cue, one of the ceiling tiles near the back of the room buckled and she fell to the floor, tied up and screaming through her gag. Silence. In unison, Mizore and Kurumu pointed at each other.

"The Cow did it!" Mizore blurted at the same time Kurumu cried,

"It was the Stalker Woman!" Leiko just said:

"Mmmmmmph!" At that moment, Moka and Yukari struggled into the room, dragging a screaming Ari with them.

"Noooooooo! I don't wanna be molested!" She cried, clearly having been filled in on Leiko's-ahem-hobbies. Moka grunted, pulling with all her might.

"You're not being molested, just groped!" She said, as if that was any better.

"Besides, you have to, desu~" Said Yukari. "Otherwise you can't join!" Kurumu snorted.

"Then how come _you're _here? As I recall, you were passed over." Yukari fell over as if she'd been stabbed, then sprang back up immediately.

"Just because I didn't get molested doesn't mean I can't be here!" She protested. We all-even Leiko-sweatdropped.

"Then why does Ari-san have to be molested?" Mizore asked. Yukari pondered that for a moment.

"Because I said so, desu~!" Ari kicked out with her free leg and tripped Moka, leaving her dazed on her butt. She leapt up and sprinted for the door, only to collide with Nike. He steadied himself on the door frame.

"Ari, I know you've got a thing for me, but I think you should know that I see you as my little sister." She punched him in the chest.

"Shut up. I'm avoiding molestation here." He grinned.

"Sounds like a plan, I'm not here for you anyway. Think fast, Ice-bitch." He unceremoniously shoved her out of the way, sending her toppling into Mizore. I sweatdropped as he turned in my direction.

"Tsukune-kun, I need to talk to you and Moka-san." He turned and walked out into the hallway. Moka and I shared a confused look, but followed him anyway.

Out in the hallway, Nike was staring out of a window.

"Does the name Death Jr. mean anything to you guys?" The three syllables sent a shock into the core of my being. The words were familiar, yet strange. Moka's Rosario began shaking on its chain.

_** "What of him?" **_Inner Moka's voice sounded oddly hesitant. Nike whipped toward us.

"Who said that?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Ura-chan did." I told him. He looked confused, but Moka looked even more so.

"I-I think I've heard that name before, but it's like an odd case of-"

"Deja-vu." I finished. Nike stared at us for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. He doubled over, clutching his gut.

"Oh, _wow! _That far along, are you?" I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. I didn't dare look at Moka.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked, defensively. He just shook his head, unable to form coherent sentences.

_** "What of DJ?" **_Ura repeated, more forcefully. Nike sobered immediately.

"Did you know he was dead?" An unexplainable stab of anguish twisted into my heart. I looked at Moka, there were tears in her eyes. Ura was silent.

"Wh-why do I feel this way?" She was shaking, and so was I. Nike nodded, as if confirming his suspicions. He returned to staring out the window.

"Leslie memory-wiped you. No, even worse than that, she _altered_ your memories. Edited him out of every. Single. One." He punctuated the last three words by punching the window. "Why would she _do _that?"

_** "But I remember everything." **_Ura sounded frustrated. _**"How can I remember?"**_ Nike said nothing for a while.

"Seriously, how is she doing that?" I shrugged.

"Not exactly sure, but sometimes she speaks through the seal." Nike got a weird look in his eyes.

"Seal?" Moka explained the purpose and function of her Rosary and Nike nodded intermittently. Nike stepped forward and tapped it. I could have sworn it rippled at his touch.

"It probably has to do with your seal, then. Ura-chan, could Leslie ever telepathically communicate with you while you were sealed?" Ura seemed to think for a while.

_** "No. . .she couldn't." **_Nike nodded.

"It explains why you still remember him, and her for that matter." Something was nagging at the back of my mind. Moka frowned.

"And who's Leslie?" He opened his mouth to say more, then a door farther down the hallway opened. Ms. Kuroyami stepped out and glanced at us. Nike stiffened, then turned slowly. She raised an eyebrow, then turned and walked away, her heels clicking loudly on the floor. Nike waited until he was sure she was gone before saying,

"You guys, we need to be _really _careful around her. She'd as strong as Ura-chan, maybe even stronger." Moka and I scoffed.

"Riiiiight." I said, doubtfully. Moka shook her head, but Ura said something that chilled both of us to the bone.

_** "I hate to say it, but he may be right." **_Ura-chan? Admitting someone might be stronger than her? The world is ending. I thought. _**"Tsukune, didn't you feel it? I know I trained you better than that." **_This frustrated me a bit because, with all the training on sensing Yokai that Ura gave me, I felt nothing at all.

Kurumu stuck her head out into the hall.

"Uh, Nike-san? It's Ari-san. She won't let go of Mizore-chan."

"She's just so ADORABLE!" Ari yelled from inside the room. He sighed and walked into the room, excusing himself. From within there came the sounds I'd come to associate with pain, then the door opened and Nike came back, dragging Ari's limp body by the arm. He nudged her with his toe.

"Get up, this is serious. It's about DJ and Leslie." Ari was suddenly on her feet. She paced back and forth anxiously.

"Any clues as to where they went after this?"

"DJ went into the ground." Ari stopped and looked at him.

"You don't mean-"  
"Yes. He—_"_ He stopped suddenly, choking on his own words. He paced around running his hand through his hair anxiously. "Sorry, it's just that. . ." Ari patted his arm.

"I understand, your brother is missing and you're worried. It's okay."

_** "Brother?" **_Ura spoke what we'd all been wondering. Nike gave a bitter smile.

"Yeah. Nike Josephs, at your service."

* * *

Inner Moka was conflicted. Should she tell them? Ari and Nike would be devastated. But there might not be another chance if she didn't do it now. She could feel something changing. Something was wrong. She couldn't predict their actions, she didn't know them well enough yet. All hell might break loose if she told them that truth about Leslie. . .

* * *

"Tskuuuneee!" Kurumu whined. "Why are you calling her Ari-chan? You just met her today!" I opened my mouth, but she cut me off. "Ari-san shouldn't call you Tsukune-kun yet either! She hasn't been pummeled by Ura-chan yet." I thought about it. Her logic made a twisted kind of sense. Everyone in our group (Excluding Moka herself) had been beaten up by Ura at one point, even Nike. Ari growled at her.

"Call me Ari-san again and I'll be forced to attack you." Kurumu laughed and said,

"Do you really think you could beat me Ari-sa—ow!" Her mouth snapped shut as the ball of Ari's foot made contact with her jaw. She glared at her.

"That hurt!" Ari shrugged.

"I know." Kurumu's nails grew into claws. Aw, man.

"You almost made me bite my own tongue off!" Mizore laughed.

"Almost? Too bad, I hear cow tongue is a delicacy in some places." Kurumu snapped at her.

"Shut up! I'm talking to Ari-sa-" Again, Ari kicked her in the jaw.

"Stop that!" Kurumu screeched. Nike leaned against the base of the tree next to me.

"Are they really fighting about this?" I shrugged.

"Mizore and Kurumu fight over less, I think they enjoy it. " Yukari ran over.

"What'd I miss, desu~?" I shrugged.

"They're fighting over Ari-chan's name." Yukari mulled it over for a second, then ran to join them. Nike laughed.

"The hell? Why would _she _join?" I shrugged.

"Yukari-chan is just as temperamental as the rest of them." Nike stood, brushing dirt off his butt.

"Be right back." He trotted over to where the girls were kicking up a dust cloud through which you could occasionally see random limbs. Nike hesitated, then snatched an arm and pulled. Mizore glared at him and he hastily dropped her.

"I'm afraid I'll get pulled in." He admitted, returning to his spot. I laughed.

"It's not impossible." I looked up to find Ari with Mizore in a headlock and stomping on Kurumu's back while Yukari repeatedly bashed a bronze pan on her head. I looked at Nike.

"Where's Moka-san?" He asked me. I shrugged, looking around.

"Wanna go look for her?" He shrugged.

"You go on ahead, this is interesting." I glanced up to find Mizore, Yukari, and Kurumu taking turns kicking Ari, who was curled up in a fetal position on the ground.

"Uh, shouldn't you help her?" He shook his head.

"If she gets desperate, she'll use her powers." I raised my eyebrows.

"What kind of 'powers'?" He put a finger to his lips and grinned.

"Can't tell." I shrugged and got up, wondering for the millionth time what kind of Yokai they could possibly be.

* * *

I didn't get far before I met up with Moka. She was walking up the path alone, looking deep in thought. I stopped and waited for her to get closer. Unaware I was near, she walked right by me and probably would've kept walking if I hadn't tapped her shoulder. She started, then turned toward me. A bright smile broke through her brooding look. As she smiled at me, I felt my insides turn to water.

My brain was suddenly mush and if the world had been exploding around me, I wouldn't have given a damn. Or a fuck. Or a shit. No shits, damns, or fucks would have been given. Zero. Nada. Not one. Shit, I'm rambling.

"Tsukune!" She stepped closer to me and took my hand, pulling me off the path and deeper into the forest. I stumbled along behind her, wondering where we were going. Eventually we stopped and I bent over, catching my breath. Moka looked around and nodded.

"This is a good place." She said. I looked up at her, unintentionally catching a glimpse of her panties.

"For what?" I asked, blushing heavily and attempting to staunch the violent flow of blood from my nostrils. Moka sniffed the air and I froze. _Uh-oh. _I thought. She turned around and I saw that her face was flushed a delicate red.

"Tsukune-kun," She gave a happy little sigh. She grabbed my hands and pressed herself against me. My mind imploded in numb happiness, but my knee-jerk reaction was to back away. I was worried it might upset her, but she just growled playfully and followed me. We continued like that for a time, me retreating and her pursuing, until my back hit a tree. She smirked, an expression I had no idea Moka (By which I mean Outer Moka) possessed, and pulled me forward a bit, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"M-moka-san?" She smiled sweetly at me.

"Thanks, Tsukune-kun. I appreciate you helping me out like this." Before I could fully process what she was implying. . . "Chuu~" _Crap. I should've known. _I thought, bitterly. Then she pulled back, licked her lips, and stretched upwards. She pecked me on the cheek and backed up, blushing. I stood speechless. _Moka kissed me! _I was close to hyperventilating and before I could react, she turned and was gone. I'd missed my chance. Oh well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. This year was, without a doubt, gonna be interesting.

**Sorry, uploaded the wrong version. This is what was _supposed_ to happen. Once again, they're not dating, if that happened Kurumu would die. And while she's still not my favorite character, that would be very very bad. Blah, blah, blah. Review and shit, goodbye.**

** -Death Jr**

**We love hearing from you guys, even if some people say douchey things. Reviews are appreciated and encouraged, but we can't _make _you review. It's a choice that-oh forget it. Have a rotten day ;)**

**-Lana Pyro**


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